About Me

My name is Hal Martin and at my last dental checkup my dentist told me that I had gum disease. My dentist gave me instructions about what I needed to do so that the gum disease wouldn't get worse and turn into periodontal disease. When I returned home, I immediately began learning everything I could about gum disease by reading dental articles online. I sure didn't want it to get worse so I knew that I needed to take action right away. In this blog, you'll learn all about gum disease including what it is, the causes and how you can help prevent it. I wanted to write this blog to get the word out to as many people about gum disease to hopefully help others have healthy gums.

Bad breath is a common issue that can have simple solutions — brushing your teeth or using mouthwash, for example — or require professional care — for example, visiting your family dentist to have your teeth cleaned. When you think of braces, you probably imagine the benefits that they can provide in terms of straightening your teeth and addressing any bite issues. What you might not know, though, is that getting braces can also help to improve bad breath in a handful of ways. Here are some reasons that are applicable.

Addressing Difficult-To-Clean Areas

One of the reasons that you can get bad breath is because you have trouble cleaning your teeth properly on a daily basis. For example, if certain teeth are crammed together, it may be difficult or nearly impossible to fit dental floss between them. As a result, you may simply stop trying to floss between these teeth. The problem with this idea is that the bacteria that you aren't removing will soon turn into tartar, and this will begin to affect your gum health. One of the symptoms of gum disease is bad breath. When you get braces to address teeth that are pushed too tightly together, you'll eventually be able to floss between them more easily, lowering your risk of bad breath.

Removing Gapped Areas

On the opposite side of the spectrum are teeth that have gaps between them. These are easy to clean with floss, but can be a magnet for food particles. The longer that food particles can remain stuck between your teeth, the more than they'll begin to break down. As they rot, this can lead to bad breath. This may especially be true for products that smell more pungent as they rot, such as meat products. Braces can remove these gapped areas and prevent food from being trapped as easily, thus reducing the likelihood of bad breath.

Encouraging Better Tooth Care

When you get braces, your orthodontist and dentist will implore you to take care of your teeth. It's easy for food particles to get stuck around your braces, so it's important that you brush your teeth after every meal, use any specialty cleaning tools that your dentist provides, and use floss threaders so that you can continue to floss your teeth. The habits that you establish when you have braces should ideally remain even after you stop wearing them, which can help to keep bad breath at bay in the future.